A Maniac is Born

So I've decided to run the San Francisco Marathon in July. Well, more than decided...I've registered. And booked my hotel. And put in for the PTO at work. And started looking for a plane ticket. And did I mention I've also registered for the Omaha Marathon in September? Long story but that one will actually be a local race for me; a move from Denver to Omaha is rapidly approaching. Did I mention we are moving from Denver to Omaha?! Yeah, it's been that kind of month.

So, apparently I am going to continue the marathon madness, and maybe I'll scootch a June or August race in there and become a maniac along the way....

Race Report: Colfax Marathon Relay

Team Jviatiors A (me, Scary, C-dog, Utah, Little Italy), aka 4 people faster
than me that may have gotten me the only sub-4 marathon finish I'll ever have.

Well since I ran the Colorado Marathon just a week before this race, I wisely realized that it probably wouldn't be my smartest move to try and run the Colfax Half again this year. Though I really enjoyed it last year and kind of wanted to try and beat my 2009 time, over my last several months of "running smarter," I did actually learn something. I learned to keep the big picture in mind, and not sacrifice my lifelong running "career" for one measly race. So, I didn't register for the Colfax Half. However, if you paid attention to the title of this post, you see that instead, I got myself¹ onto a relay team. I ran the anchor leg of the relay, which in my opinion was the best part of the race, for several reasons.

One: the race started at 6am. However, I only had to show up for the final 5.3 miles...which meant sleeping in and rolling into my relay exchange point about 8:30. Lovely!

Two: My leg was through the lovely LoDo, then past all three of my former work office buildings, along a short piece of Colfax, then through City Park. Splendid!

Three: I got spectators and finish line goodness. Delightful!

Four: Plenty of paparazzi race pics due to photos positioned near the start/finish of the race. Fabulous!

Five: I got to encourage all those full marathon runners around me in those last 5 miles, when I knew they were feeling it. My team finished in 3:51:06, so those were my fellow middle of the pack peeps I was boosting. Just one short week after my own full marathon, I knew first-hand how helpful that support can be. Fulfilling! Rewarding! Memorable!

Six: It was only 5.3 miles. Cake!²

One of the paparazzi shots where I don't look tired.
There were very few of those.

Seven: I spotted my HRRC running buddies, who were there to help support fellow HRRC first-time marathoner Massud, just as I came into the park for the last couple of miles. Marvelous!

Highlands Ranch Running Club Gang: Coach PBuck; Fastie Roxane;
Me; Marathoner Massud; Flying Frenchman Carol; Climbing Anne

So, it was a great, fun relay event for me. Our team ran well, had fun, and spent some quality time outside of the office. It was fun to hang around after the race and just chat and relax (usually I have hubs and the shorties there, and they are anxious to go but this time I was alone). I enjoyed this race last year, and it was my first half marathon so I really didn't have much experience to measure it against. But this year, older, wiser and with more long races under my belt....I still enjoyed the race. And I think it was much better organized than last year. Plus they finally got with the program and had tech tees for the race shirts. (Thanks Kaiser Permanente!)

The brave Jviation crew: Kristin; Timmy; Alex; Me; Scott; Leah;
Christy; Anna; Brooklyn

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¹ - what I really did was convince 9 of my colleagues to join ME in forming two teams, so that I could participate in this race
² - Less "cake" more "dry, stale, bran muffin"; I can't lie, my legs were tired one week post-marathon, even only doing 5 miles

Made it To a Marathon

Well, more than a year after I first set out to run a marathon, I have finally, officially done it. 17 months, probably a thousand miles, one stress fracture, and countless peanut butter M&Ms later I can proudly say it: I AM A MARATHONER.

What a great feeling. What a great Mothers' Day. I got to spend it in the glorious Colorado mountains, in perfect weather, doing just what I love: running. And not just running, but running my first marathon! I have a full race report coming in the near future, but for now I will spare you the suspense and give you the quick-and-dirty version...

Miles 1-18 = glorious, fabulous, sexay mountain downhills, I rocked it
Miles 19=25 = cow and horse manure smell, quads started whining at mile 22
Mile 25-26.2 = ohmygod how good does chocolate milk sound right now?!

Final chip time: 4:35:49. Of course, as any marathoner knows, the time doesn't always tell the whole story. My secret [achievable] goal was to come in at 4:30--and basically, I did that. Had I not made a porta-potty stop, I would have been about a minute off of that. And had I walked less in miles 22-26.2, I would have smashed my goal and come in about 4:18. But the best part of the story is that I ran strong, felt great, and will definitely be doing more marathons in the future (ok, yes, so I am already registered for Denver in October, but now I am also considering a July or August showing, just to keep things fun...I never had the moment of "why in the hell did I ever think this was a good idea?!")

I really had a great, strong race and feel completely satisfied with my finish. And my favorite line by a runner was the Marathon Maniac at about mile 9 who, in chatting, mentioned that he had run 116 marathons. A couple of other first-timers with the little group running with me were incredoulous at that--they said, "my God, you are basically in marathon training 100% of the time!" and his response, "well, the really great thing about running a marathon every couple of weeks is that you never have to do that long boring training run on the weekends!" That got a good laugh out of all of us.

The grand finale to my Mothers' Day was that after we all got back home, we were on our way to walk to the park for a little while and Shortie2 flipped off the front of his little riding toy car, busted his chin wide open, and ended up at the urgent care with 6 stitches. Thank God I had a wonderfully-moisture-wicking tech shirt on in order to soak up all the dripping blood. Ah, Motherhood, indeed.